Project Summary

The NorIMM Researcher Network: Cell-Matrix Interactions in Health and Disease, is a continuation of the NordForsk funded research infrastructure network, Nordic Infrastructure for Mouse Models.

NorIMM was established in 2008 to improve communication between current infrastructures for generation and phenotyping of gene-modified mice in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and to enhance the Nordic contribution and participation in Infrafrontier, the European infrastructure for phenotyping and archiving of model mammalian genomes.

An aim of the network is to provide training in the form of workshops, courses, and a symposium every two years.

The partner facilities in Nordic countries will provide expertise in specific technologies, particularly in the analysis of mouse models which can be demanding and time-consuming.

Models generated can be used in several different research projects, and the number of collaborative studies is increasing. The participant groups are highly distinguished in their fields, which cover overlapping aspects in tumor biology, angiogenesis, cell signaling, extracellular matrix synthesis, hypoxia response, and developmental biology.

Existing links to the industry will be continued and further collaborations will be searched. Companies are also expected to be interested in exploiting the service facilities involved in the network.

Nordic collaboration is essential in order to support internationally competitive research on disease models and understanding gene functions, and to develop new therapeutic approaches. As a further step, the network is in future aiming to more extensive applications with additional European partners.